FPGA-Based Embedded System Design for Real-Time Applications

Abstract

FPGAs have turned out to be an effective development environment in the real-time embedded system design because they are inherently parallel, reconfigurable, and deterministic in their execution. In contrast to the use of microcontrollers or processors, FPGA-based embedded systems can address very high real-time requirements needed in industrial automation, automotive control, aerospace, medical equipment and high-speed communication systems. This is a research paper discussing the application of FPGA based embedded systems in real-time system, in relation to system architecture, design methods, hardware software co-design and performance optimization strategies. The research paper examines literature, presents a systematic design approach and the performance indexes that include latency, throughput and determinism. The results establish that FPGA-based platforms are superior in system time-critical applications as compared to traditional embedded platforms besides providing flexibility and scalability. The article ends with the discussion of challenges, future trends and recommendations toward implementing FPGA-based real-time embedded systems in the modern engineering practice.